Visual media is an integral part of entertainment and information exchange in today's world. As technology advances, consumers desire improved quality in the video streams that they watch. Typical video or picture data is view on a screen as a two dimensional image without a third or depth dimension. Providing video or picture data having a third or depth dimension is also known.
If video or picture data is captured only as a two dimensional image and there is a desire to view or display the captured video or image as a three dimensional image, the two dimensional image data needs to be converted into three dimensional image data. Certain methods of converting this data are known in the art.
In one known technique called the structure from motion (SFM) approach, pixels in consecutive frames of video data are tracked to determine depth differences between moving pixels and still pixels. The motion structure is recovered, and a depth map or map of relative depths of pixels in an image is determined using geometry fitting of the motion structure. This approach is complex and requires large amounts of processing power (also known as having “high time complexity”). Accordingly, this approach is less desirable, especially in an environment where a three dimensional image is requested to be displayed immediately from two dimensional data. An example is where a person having a two dimensional video want to play that video in three dimensions and does not want to wait for a conversion process, instead relying on that conversion to be done in real time.
Another known technique called the DFC (Depth From Cues) technique involves creating depth from various cues. In one known version of this approach, pixel motion vector between frames of video data is the sole image cue used to calculate depth. In another version of this approach, color information is used as the sole image cue to calculate depth. Although these techniques can be used in a real time conversion, visual quality can be lacking due to flicker or uneven determination depth among frames in a video.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.